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NFL GREEK INSIDER WEEK 3

San Diego -14 over Kansas City (bought half):
The San Diego Chargers' run of AFC West titles ended at four last season as the Kansas City Chiefs went from worst to first. While the Chargers have some issues they need to resolve in order to recapture division supremacy, those pale in comparison to the problems the Chiefs are facing. San Diego tries to bounce back from a sloppy loss Sunday when it hosts a Kansas City team that has been pummeled in its first two games and will be without All Pro running back Jamaal Charles for the rest of the year.

After winning the West from 2006-09, the Chargers (1-1) struggled within the division last year and watched as the Chiefs finished in first place for the first time since 2003. San Diego split its two games against Kansas City in 2010 and finished 3-3 against West opponents, a mark it knows it must improve upon to get back to the playoffs. The Chargers appear to have a great chance Sunday considering they've not only outscored Kansas City 74-14 in winning the last two meetings at Qualcomm Stadium, but the Chiefs (0-2) also appear to be in a state of disarray.

Kansas City has been outscored by 79 points - its worst differential through two games in franchise history - and has had to put three of its top players on injured reserve with torn ACLs. Charles, who had the NFL's second-highest rushing total last season with 1,467 yards on a remarkable 6.4 yards per carry, tore the ACL in his left knee after taking an awkward step while finishing off a run in the first quarter of last Sunday's 48-3 loss at Detroit. Veteran Thomas Jones has proven he can handle a heavy workload after running for 896 yards and six TDs last season while logging 15 more carries than Charles. But he's a month removed from turning 33, and the Chiefs will now need the 23-year-old Dexter McCluster - whose 94-yard punt return was the difference in a 21-14 win over San Diego last season - to step up.

Jones didn't have much success in two games against the Chargers last season, running for 40 yards on 14 attempts, while Charles rushed for 132 yards on 21 carries. San Diego, meanwhile, should be anxious to get back home after some self-inflicted wounds Sunday at New England. The Chargers committed four turnovers in a 35-21 loss - with running back Mike Tolbert's fumble, down six in the fourth quarter, looming the largest.

San Diego should have better luck forcing turnovers against the Chiefs, who lead the league with nine. Matt Cassel, who has not thrown for more than 133 yards and owns a 50.4 quarterback rating, is responsible for five - including four interceptions. Cassel has also struggled in his last three games against the Chargers, averaging 114.3 yards with three touchdowns and four picks. Rivers has been a bit turnover-prone as well, matching Cassel with four interceptions and a fumble. He figures to have better luck against a Kansas City secondary that's been torched by Ryan Fitzpatrick and Matthew Stafford - each threw four TD passes - but Rivers doesn't need to look further than his own numbers against the Chiefs. Rivers has averaged 295.2 yards and posted a 108.0 passer rating in six games versus Kansas City since 2008 - five victories. Bolts by three scores as they increase KC's futility to a whole new level.

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Detroit -2.5 over Minnesota (bought half):
The Lions will try to improve to 3-0 for the first time since 1980 by snapping a lengthy road losing streak to the Vikings, who will attempt to avoid their first 0-3 start in nine years. Detroit became the first NFL team to go winless during a 16-game season in 2008, then tied the second-longest losing streak in league history in 2009 with a Week 2 loss to Minnesota before ending that 19-game slide the following Sunday.

This year, the Lions (2-0) enter Week 3 as one of only seven unbeaten teams in the NFL and riding a six-game winning streak dating back to last season. Detroit, which hasn't reached the playoffs in 12 years, defeated Kansas City 48-3 last Sunday for the most lopsided regular-season win in team history. The Vikings (0-2), meanwhile, are among seven winless teams, just two years removed from opening 6-0 and winning a second straight division crown.

Stafford ranks fourth in passer rating at 112.0, with four of his seven touchdown passes going to Calvin Johnson. Detroit has lost its last 13 trips to Minnesota dating to Dec. 14, 1997. The Lions have dropped 22 of 26 overall versus the Vikings but ended a six-game losing streak in the series in the last matchup, winning 20-13 on Jan. 2 as they held Adrian Peterson to 31 yards rushing. Peterson ran for 160 and two TDs in a 24-10 home win over Detroit last season, a game which the Vikings also entered looking to avoid their first 0-3 start since dropping four in a row to begin 2002.

Peterson's 9-yard TD run just before halftime put Tampa Bay in a 17-0 hole last Sunday, but Minnesota gave up two touchdowns in the game's final seven minutes - the last with 31 seconds left - and lost 24-20. Another bad second half cost Frazier's team in the season opener at San Diego, where the Vikings led 17-7 at the break but fell 24-17. Minnesota could use help with defensive lineman Kevin Williams expected to return from his suspension for testing positive for a banned diuretic in 2008. The six-time Pro Bowler, though, is dealing with plantar fasciitis in his left foot and had one sack in 2010 after recording a combined 14 1/2 over the previous two campaigns. The Vikings also are dealing with a potential off-the-field distraction. Safety Tyrell Johnson was arrested on suspicion of driving while impaired early Tuesday morning. I like the more balanced team on both sides of the ball who has a good chance of surprising a lot of people from Motown and across the nation. Lions by double digits in an atosphere they are quite used to.

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Arizona -2.5 over Seattle (bought half):
The Arizona Cardinals rank near the bottom of the NFL in defense, but a meeting with the winless Seattle Seahawks should improve their numbers. The NFC West rivals face off Sunday in Seattle, where the defending division champs try to avoid their first 0-3 start since 2002. After Carolina's Cam Newton shredded Arizona's defense for 422 passing yards in the Cardinals' season opener, they did little to slow down Washington in a 22-21 loss last Sunday. Rex Grossman threw for 291 yards and two touchdowns, while former Cardinal Tim Hightower rushed for 96 yards on 20 carries. The Redskins finished with 455 yards of offense.

Arizona (1-1) led 21-13 in the fourth quarter, but Washington scored on its three fourth-quarter drives, taking the lead on a 34-yard field goal with 1:45 to go. Despite the large amounts of yardage Arizona has given up in new defensive coordinator Ray Horton's scheme, the Cardinals are a surprising 11th in points allowed, having given up three red-zone touchdowns in nine opportunities. They had a pair of interceptions last week, including one in the red zone.

Beanie Wells has rushed for 183 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 5.7 yards per carry, while Kevin Kolb has thrown for 560 yards passing over his first two games. He has four touchdowns and one interception. While Kolb could have a big game against a Seahawks defense that has given up 437 passing yards and yet to force a turnover, Wells could have difficulty on the ground. Seattle is surrendering 3.1 yards per carry, which is fifth-best in the league.

That may be the only thing the Seahawks (0-2) have to be pleased about after the first two weeks. Seattle followed up its 33-17 season-opening loss at San Francisco with a 24-0 defeat Pittsburgh, finishing with 164 total yards and has been outscored 33-0 in the first half of its games. While turnovers were not a problem against the Steelers, the running game was. The Seahawks were held to 33 rushing yards by Pittsburgh, rank last in the league with 47.5 per game and Marshawn Lynch has 44 yards on 19 carries.

Jackson could have Sidney Rice available after he missed the first two weeks with a shoulder injury. Rice had 17 catches for 280 yards last season with the Minnesota Vikings as Jackson's teammate after amassing a career-high 1,312 receiving yards in 2009. However, the team will be without veteran guard Robert Gallery, who needs groin surgery and will miss at least a month. The Seahawks will go with Paul McQuistan at guard instead of moving rookie right tackle James Carpenter.

As long as Arizona takes care of the ball and can mve the ball methodically through the air against an anemic Seattle team on both sides of the ball, the Cardinals should boucne back after last week's heartbreaking loss to Arizona to handle the Seahawks.

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Green Bay/Chicago over 45:
When the Green Bay Packers last visited Soldier Field, they left with a ticket punched to the Super Bowl. Chicago's Jay Cutler left in the third quarter with a knee injury, and he was highly criticized by the masses for weeks. With the way things have been going for the Bears' banged-up offensive line, it again could be difficult for Cutler to escape injury-free. In a meeting between the NFL's oldest rivals Sunday, the undefeated Packers again look to frustrate Cutler and a Chicago offense that appeared out of sorts last week.

In last season's NFC championship game, Green Bay beat the Bears 21-14 to earn its first trip to the Super Bowl since the 1997 season. Although Aaron Rodgers was the winning quarterback, much of the attention was on his counterpart. Cutler suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee - although it originally wasn't reported as such - and immediately had his toughness questioned for leaving a game with a spot in the Super Bowl at stake. Much of the criticism came from current and former players, but Cutler said it is no longer an issue.

After surrendering a league-worst 56 sacks last season, the Bears (1-1) are again leading the NFL with 11 allowed. Cutler was sacked six times in last Sunday's 30-13 loss to New Orleans, although five of them came in the fourth quarter when all the scoring was done. Cutler now faces a Green Bay team that has seven sacks and got to him 11 times in three meetings last season. Although the Packers have done a good job of getting to the quarterback, their secondary has been vulnerable in victories over New Orleans and Carolina. It seems like they could have even more trouble with their pass defense with three-time All Pro safety Nick Collins being done for the year because of a neck injury. Even with Collins, however, the Packers have had trouble, allowing Drew Brees to pass for 419 yards and three touchdowns and Cam Newton to throw for 432 yards and a TD. The defense did manage to pick off Newton three times and stop him a yard short of the marker on a fourth-down keeper on the Green Bay four-yard line with just over three minutes remaining.

While the defense has been susceptible, Rodgers has looked sharp, completing 70.8 percent of his passes for 620 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. Although Rodgers is one of the most prolific passers in the NFL - his 104.3 quarterback rating since the start of last season is second only to Tom Brady's 113.6 - the Bears have done a good job of keeping him in check. In five games against Chicago since 2009, Rodgers is averaging 230.6 yards with three touchdowns and four interceptions. Despite the pedestrian numbers, the Packers still won four of those meetings, with Greg Jennings finishing with 23 receptions for 407 yards and two TDs.

The Bears lack a big-play receiver like Jennings, one of the many reasons Cutler is having trouble getting rid of the ball. Roy Williams missed the game in New Orleans with a groin injury, while Earl Bennett left with a chest injury in the first half. Their statuses are unknown for this game. Historically these two teams during the regular season have played some close high scoring contests that can swing the momentum in an instant. I see a lot of offense and this total could be challenged as early as late in the 3rd.

GL to all on Sunday
YTD 5-3

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